Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell/Bob Burleigh

NEWARK, DE -- Senior quarterback Joe Flacco (middle right) threw for 337 yards and tossed all three of his touchdowns in a 14-minute span to lead the No. 10 ranked University of Delaware football team to a 38-9 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Rhode Island Saturday afternoon at Delaware Stadium.

The Blue Hens (3-0, 2-0 CAA), off to a 3-0 start for the third time in the last five seasons, broke away from a slow start and defeated the Rams (0-3, 0-1 CAA) for the third straight time. Rhode Island, coming off a four-point loss to Fordham and an overtime setback to Army its first two games, is off to an 0-3 start for the first time since the 2000 season.

Flacco, who surpassed 200 yards passing for the eighth straight game and went over the 300-yard mark for the sixth time in 14 career games, completed 25 of 39 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns for the game to lead a Blue Hen offense that recorded 434 total yards.

Aaron Love (top right), playing despite a groin pull that forced him to miss practice for most of the week, hauled in 10 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown while Mark Duncan (bottom right) surpassed the 100-yard mark for the second straight game as he snared six passes for 109 yards. Flacco’s 337 yards was just four shy of his career high of 341 last season vs. Towson.

Delaware’s defense came up with its second straight solid outing as the Hens held Rhode Island to just 266 total yards, intercepted two passes, and recovered a fumble in the end zone. The Blue Hens held West Chester to just 255 yards in last week’s 41-14 win.

All-CAA fullback Joe Casey led the Ram attack with 18 carries for 97 yards while Tim Allen picked up 57 yards on five carries. The URI passing game contributed just 79 yards and not Ram play caught more than two passes.

“I thought the defense set the tone for the day,” said Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler, who improved to 30-9 at home in his six seasons at the helm of the Blue Hens. “It was nice to see the offense get some composure in the second half. They made us throw the ball today, but we knew that was the way it was going to go. Defensively, our kids flew around and played hard all day long. They had been a bit maligned and it was nice to see them step up. We have to be able to go into shootouts and we also have to be able to run the ball. To be a championship caliber ball team, we have to be able to do those things offensively.”

The Blue Hens scored twice in a five-minute span in the second half to take a 21-2 lead into intermission and scored two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter to put the game away and remain in first place in the CAA South Division standings.

It was Delaware’s defense that dominated things early. Erik Johnson intercepted a pass by Rhode Island quarterback Derek Cassidy on the Rams’ first drive of the day and the Hens got on the board first on URI’s next possession as redshirt freshman cornerback Anthony Walters tipped an option pitch by Cassidy at the Ram three-yard line and then recovered the ball in the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

Rhode Island scored its first points off the Delaware offense. After the Rams pinned Delaware inside its own five yard line on a punt by Bryan Giannecchini, Flacco was whistled for intentional grounding while scrambling in the end zone, resulting in a safety for Rhode Island. The Rams would not score again until the final minute as Delaware then reeled off 31 straight points.

Senior running back Omar Cuff, who entered the game as the nation’s leading scorer with 11 touchdowns in just two games, scored No. 12 with 5:56 left in the first half on a two-yard bursts to give the Hens a 14-2 lead.

The scoring drive was set up when linebacker Walter Blair intercepted Cassidy and returned the ball to the URI 16-yard line. Cuff, averaging 168.5 yards rushing per game, was held to just 56 yards on 14 carries but moved into third place on the UD all-time rushing yardage list with 2,812 yards.

The Delaware offense then kicked into high gear as Flacco hit Love with a 15-yard scoring pass with 1:53 left before halftime for a 21-2 lead at intermission and fired scoring strikes of 13 yards to Duncan and two yards to Mark Mackey for a 35-2 lead. Jon Striefsky added a 22-yard field goal early in the final stanza to up the lead to 38-2.

Rhode Island, looking for its first winning season since 2001, then scored its only touchdown of the game with 49 seconds left as Joe Bellini scored from eight yards out to cap the scoring.

Sophomore safety Anthony Bratton led the Blue Hens with 12 tackles while Blair finished with eight and also broke up another pass in addition to his first career interception. The Hen defense collected two sacks and had seven other tackles for loss against the Rams.

“Delaware has a really fine football team,” said URI head coach Tim Stowers. “They have the makings of a playoff team and maybe even another championship team. They’re physical, they get off the blocks, they like to play and they’re fundamentally sound.“Offensively, I don’t think we responded very well. We knew we weren’t just going to be able to run at them. We have got to do a better job of getting the right players in there at the right time to win the football game. Turnovers are unacceptable and inexcusable.”

Delaware will look to improve to 4-0 for the first time since the 2003 NCAA championship season next week when they travel to Towson in CAA play. The Tigers have defeated the Blue Hens each of the past two seasons, including a 49-35 win in Newark last season. Rhode Island hosts Hofstra in CAA action next week.

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